Girl's Not Grey
by agesixracer
Summary: When Meredith helps Alex study for his boards, he realizes that everything he previously thought about her is completely wrong. MerAlex. Takes place in and around 2.21
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This story takes place in and around _Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer_ (Episode 2.21).

Izzie and Alex went on one date, but it didn't work out. Derek chose Addison, and Meredith is trying not to look back. Anything that deviates from the show is explained in the text. MerAlex

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Chapter 1: "A Change is Gonna Come"

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He liked her, he couldn't help it. And Alex Karev did not _like _girls. _Like that_. As she lay on the gurney with her pseudo Boston accent, pointing to various parts of her body and awaiting a diagnosis, he wondered how it was that she was actually his friend. And, more importantly, how it was that he actually _wanted _her to be his friend.

"Well?" she asked, sitting up abruptly.

Her eyes sparkled at him, probably not on purpose. He wasn't even sure why she was doing this. Izzie was pissed at him and girls usually stuck together. Solidarity, or something. But here she was, helping him study.

It was an easy diagnosis. "Gall stones."

She gave him a thumbs up. "Okay." Then, "I felt a lump on my breast, when I was doing my monthly exam in the shower."

Alex stumbled back a bit at the mental image of Meredith Grey in the shower. He may not think of her as more than a friend, but he was still a guy. "When was it that you noticed this lump?" Alex stepped forward, recovering from the shock.

She looked upward, "Three days ago."

"Have you had any irregularity in your menstrual cycle?" he asked. Meredith shook her head. "Well let's have a look. Can I have you lie down and put your right hand over your head?" Meredith did as she was told. Alex searched his mind for a crude joke that he would normally spit out, but was at a loss for words.

"No, no, like this," she said, gently grabbing his hand and repositioning it. "Pat, pat."

"What the hell?" they heard behind them. Alex groaned inwardly. O'Malley was always sticking his nose in other people's business. "Does Izzie know!?"

Meredith giggled. "Relax, George." She sat up.

"Why is he touching you?" O'Malley looked positively upset by the entire situation. "And why are you letting him?" he squeaked.

"I thought I felt a lump," Meredith shrugged. "So I asked Alex to check it out." Leave it to Meredith to keep a secret. He could count on her, which was weird.

"Why didn't you ask Cristina?" he asked.

"He was here." She stood and stretched. "But everything is copasetic. Right, doc?" She winked at Alex, sparkly eyes and all.

"It's probably just because of your rag ..." He stopped short, knowing Meredith knew where he was going already. Then, he looked to George. "Got her panties in a bunch over nothing."

"Well, thanks, Alex." She turned to George. "Did you need me for something?"

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It had been a long day and he was in no mood to entertain. And yet, there was still someone knocking on his door. And by the sounds of it, they weren't going away until he opened it.

"Finally!" she sighed, pushing past him, bags of food in hand.

"Meredith?" he questioned, still unsure.

"Do you know that it's raining outside, Alex? Raining!" She unceremoniously fell onto his couch and began laying out the food.

"What are you doing here?"

"I brought study materials and food," Meredith told him. "I left you alone all day at the hospital because I figured you didn't want people to know. But," she added, "You need to study. Your boards are tomorrow, Alex."

"I don't need your help," he said, surprising himself. He was more than thankful for this and the motivation.

"I know," she agreed. "But it really sucks studying by yourself." She opened up one of the containers and looked up at him. "Now you can either go pout in your room or sit down and learn something. Either way, I'm eating my dinner here."

"Fine."

"Good. So we covered the breast exam." She opened her book. "Name the causes of a post-op fever."

Alex smiled, reflecting on the first day he'd met Meredith, but tried to disguise it with a groan. "Like I'd forget those after you embarrassed me. In front of the chief."

"You embarrassed yourself." This is what he liked, that she bit back.

"So how come you got stuck with me?" He settled into the seat next to her on the couch.

Meredith fidgeted with her hair for a moment. "The chief asked me to help you." Her answer grew uncomfortable as her eyes refused to meet his.

"Did you get caught going at it with Shepherd again?" He poked her in the ribs.

She sighed. "Definitely not."

"Then?" It wasn't so much her answer that surprised him, it was the way she said it, with a certain finality in her voice.

Meredith shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with the subject. "So, post-op fever?"

"Wait, you and Shepherd are done?" He certainly felt for her. Her relationship had been on display for the entire hospital from day one. Every gruesome detail. Alex had never liked Shepherd anyway.

"I thought you didn't like gossip," she accused.

"How about you ask me a question and if I get it right, I get to ask you one." Alex had never been one to study well. Either he knew it or he didn't.

"I'm here to help you!" She laughed.

"C'mon, Grey, you got something to hide?" He smiled in an attempt to charm her, but her eyes still refused to meet his. "It'll keep things interesting," he said. "I know you're here just to be next to me and all, but I gotta get something out of it, too," he teased.

Meredith cracked the smile that he'd been looking for. "Fine. Post-op fever."

"The five Ws."

"Which are?"

"Wind, water, wound, walking, wonder drugs."

"Good."

"How come the chief always gives you special projects, like me?" It was his turn to ask the question.

"Dr. Webber knows that I can handle special projects without running around yelling that you failed your boards," she answered simply.

"How?"

"You got your one question. Now, I get mine."

"Fine," he groaned, but he liked that she didn't let him get away with stuff like that.

"I'm nineteen and my throat, like, won't stop hurting," she said in her best valley girl accent.

"Fatigue?" Alex smiled in spite of himself. Meredith was fun.

"I don't, like, know what that means, but I'm freaking tired all the time. Like, yesterday, I slept in waaaay past noon."

Alex giggled in spite of himself. "Open up and say ahhh." She followed directions and let him peer into her throat. "I'll need to do a throat swab, but based on the preliminaries, I'd say you have mono. Have you been making out with dirty guys?"

Meredith smiled. "See, this is kind of fun, yeah?"

"Only if you keep doing those voices. Now, how does Dr. Webber know that you're good at this?"

"He's my step-father. Kind of. I mean, he used to be. But my mother divorced him." She barely paused before changing the subject abruptly. "Now, my ear really hurts. I'm twenty-three and, dude, I ain't never had no ear ache before, but like, fuck, this is the worst pain I've ever had in my life ... in my ear," she distracted him quickly, before he could react or ask his next question.

"Can you hear out of it?"

"Barely. Like, when I was on the airplane, it was just fucking silence, yo."

"Airplane? Had you had a cold before that?"

"Yeah."

"It's just pressure. Take some ibuprofen when you get home and sleep it off."

"Good job!"

"What was that, ghetto Meredith?"

"I like to call him ghetto Joe."

"So Ellis Gey and Richard Webber? What's that like?"

"Richard always tried really hard. He still does, try really hard. But I was in my angry pink hair phase when he was married to my mother. I didn't appreciate him until after … she kicked him out." Meredith bit her lip, then brightened, figuring out more symptoms. "I have this thing on my lip and it's really dry, but no matter how much lip balm I put on it, it stays dry."

"Did you have asthma when you were younger?"

"Yes."

"Easy. Eczema."

"Impressive."

"Where do Izzie and George think you are?"

Meredith smiled. "Probably at Joe's, getting drunk and going home with some inappropriate man."

"Do I count as inappropriate?"

Meredith collapsed into a fit of giggles. He liked her laugh, but he loved her giggle. "You would be the epitome of inappropriate. Come on, let's keep going."


	2. Suspicious Minds

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Chapter 2: "Suspicious Minds"

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"I think you're ready." Meredith closed her notebook, throwing it onto the floor and stretching.

Alex looked at the clock. "It's late." That was an understatement. It had been a long day; they'd begun their shift at five that morning and it was now nearly two in the morning.

Meredith nodded. "What time are your boards?"

"They're at nine." He knew she was leaving soon, but he for some reason, he didn't want her to go. "You shouldn't drive home tonight. It's too late," he spit out. "You might crash, and then I'd have to feel bad."

"Okay," she agreed. She was very nonchalant about it, which Alex liked. Chicks like Izzie are way too intense.

"I've only got one bed, so you can share with me or you can sleep on the couch."

Meredith shrugged. "Do you hog the bed?" she asked. "Because I do!" she squealed and then ran into his bedroom before he could think better of it.

A moment later, Alex had stripped down to his boxers and joined Meredith in his bed, which was something he never thought would happen.

"So you and Shepherd?" he asked.

"Done. He chose Satan, which, I mean, was probably a no-brainer." Meredith stared up at the ceiling. "She looks like Isabella freaking Rosalini. Who _wouldn't _choose her?"

"I wouldn't. She's like the control freak from hell." He turned toward her. "And you're way hotter. Shepherd doesn't know what he's missing."

Meredith smiled. "Thanks for saying that, Alex."

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There was an alarm and tiny ineffectual fists attempting to wake him up. "Turn it off," a voice accompanied the previous two. "Then get up, and go kick ass," he heard. Meredith. Waking up to Meredith, even with her tiny ineffectual fists, was nice. There was no other word for it.

When he returned, she was still in bed, curled around herself. "Don't drool on my pillow," he told her.

She nodded and smiled. "You're going to pass it, no problem." Her eyes remained closed and his gaze lingered upon her for a moment.

"There's a key on the counter, you can let yourself out."

"Are you on-call tonight?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah."

"I'll see you tonight, then."

"Want to meet in an on-call room?" he asked, a smile hinting at his lips.

"Alex!" Meredith let out a scream that was followed by a giggle.

"This is bad for my reputation, having a girl who sleeps with inappropriate men in my bed all night and all she does is steal my blankets and hit me in the morning."

"You? What about a boy who hits on anything with a heartbeat doesn't so much as even try to feel me up!?" Meredith laughed and threw a pillow his way. "Go, go, you're going to be late."

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"I knew it better than the back of my hand," Alex whispered into her ear.

"Alex!" she squealed, turning around and hugging him with such an intensity that it drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"Why is she touching Evil Spawn?" he heard Cristina ask.

All at once, Meredith realized where they were and quickly let go. "Thanks for letting me take your surgery, that's so nice of you," she told him with a wink. She'd gotten him, and she'd gotten him good.

"Yeah, just don't kill anyone, Grey," he told her.

He walked away, entering the locker room to change. "Whatever you're doing with Meredith, don't," he heard Izzie from behind him. "She's fragile and … and McDreamy just did a number on her, so … just don't."

"Mind your own business," he told her, not turning around. "Just because you think we had-"

"This isn't about me, Alex." He heard her sigh. "She didn't come home last night. Do you know anything about that?"

"I'm not her keeper, Stevens."

"I didn't ask if you were her keeper, I asked if you knew anything about that, Alex," Izzie raised her voice and put a little force behind it.

Alex turned abruptly. "She's a big girl, Izzie. Maybe she went to go visit a friend. She seems fine today, doesn't she? Maybe you need to lay off."

"God, why do you have to be such an ass? I stood up for you!" Izzie left the locker room, leaving Alex in her wake.

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He made his way over to where she sat looking over charts. He didn't even know why; he really had nothing new to tell her. He just … he just. That's it. "How was that surgery that you conned me out of?" he asked.

Meredith looked at him with twinkling eyes. "Bloody," she said, with the slightest hint of excitement in her response.

"I can't believe I let you take it." Alex shook his head at himself, still amazed. "But, thanks. You really helped me last night."

Meredith smiled. "I'm glad. It was fun." She looked around. "I talked to the Chief. I've got the floor covered if you want to go home," she whispered. "We've only got six hours left."

Alex nodded. "I can do six hours. Thanks, Grey."

She shrugged. "Thought I'd offer."

"Dr. Karev, Dr. Grey tells me that you succeeded on your little project." The Chief made his way over to Alex and Meredith. Alex grew uncomfortable in his presence, while Meredith didn't even so much as flinch. "Congratulations." He leaned into Meredith and whispered something into her ear. She nodded in response and smiled as he walked off.

"What was that about?" Alex asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Then, "I think Izzie thinks I slept with you last night," she giggled.

Alex debated whether or not to tell Meredith of his own encounter with Izzie earlier, but thought better of it. "We could make it true," he teased, gesturing toward the on-call room.

Meredith laughed. "I'll settle for a dual nap."

"Sleeps with me once and now she can't get enough of it."

"Alex!" Meredith squealed.

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"Seriously! You lied to me! I asked you straight out and-" Izzie surveyed the scene in front of her. Having heard the nurses gossip about how Dr. Karev and Dr. Grey had run into the on-call room giggling, Izzie decided to follow behind.

"What the hell, Barbie?" Alex sat up on the bottom bunk, his eyes blinded by the light.

"Make it stop!" Meredith groaned into her pillow on the top bunk.

"Oh." Izzie stood, still shell-shocked, with an audience behind her.

"Stevens, you'd better have a good reason for waking your fellow interns, my interns. They are on-call, which means they get to sleep in the on-call room if they're not needed. Now I didn't page them. The nurses didn't page them. What the hell are you doing?" Bailey asked, standing behind her with her hand on her hip.

"I thought …"

"You thought. You thought. Stop thinking and get back to work!" Bailey turned out the light and turned on her heel. "You'd think this was a damn soap opera, people running around screaming. This is a hospital! How many times do I have to say it before people believe it?"

"I believe you, Bailey," Alex grumbled.

"You shut up and get back to sleep before I invent something for you to do."


	3. A Day in the Life

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Chapter 3: "A Day in the Life"

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"I am going to take an impossibly long bath today, after I take an impossibly long nap. And then I'm going to get back in my bed and read," Meredith announced. She stood at the nurse's station rubbing her neck and filling out paper work.

"Seriously. That's how you're going to waste your day off?" he asked.

Meredith shrugged. "I don't work until three the next day. There's plenty of time for debauchery after reading."

"How about I take you out for dinner, to thank you for helping me out."

Meredith contemplated this offer for a moment. "I can't. I already have dinner plans." She didn't sound the least bit regretful and that bothered Alex a bit. "I'm sure it'd be fine if you came, too," she added, surprising him.

"Oh, okay," he responded, dumbly.

"So, can you believe Izzie? I guess after Derek, she's a little protective of me."

"A little?" A little was a major understatement. Alex shook his head. "She was like a mama grizzly bear, running in all crazy. I'm surprised she didn't kick down the door."

Meredith giggled. "So I'll pick you up at 6 tonight." She looked him over. "And wear something nice, like, make sure your socks match your shoes."

As soon as she exited the locker room, Alex realized that Meredith hadn't told him what the dinner plans entailed. But he had the feeling that a lot of things were like that with Meredith.

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"Do I pass the test?" he asked.

"It'll have to do," Meredith responded, sarcastically. He followed her to her Jeep, unable to control his eyes from focusing on her butt. He sighed, suddenly realizing it'd been weeks since he'd had sex. "How was your day? Because mine was impossibly great. George and Izzie were at the hospital all day. I had peace and quiet, for once in my freaking life."

"My day was productive."

"Alex. We're surgeons. The last thing we need on our day off is a productive day. Seriously."

Alex chuckled at her response. "So where we going?"

Meredith was silent for a moment. "Oh. I forgot to tell you." Then, as if she were telling him that his shoe laces were untied, she said, "The Chief's for dinner."

Alex choked on his spit. "Dude! Don't you think that's something you should tell a guy before you take him? At least give me a couple of hours to marinate in it!"

Meredith looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Look, I forget that not everyone knows him like I do. If you want, I'll take you home."

"I can't go home now! He's expecting me!" He looked at her. "He _is _expecting me, right. It's not going to be a double surprise, is it?" Alex put his head in his hands and groaned. "Why me?"

"Oh relax. Yes, Dad knows!"

"Jesus, you call him Dad!?"

"Calm down. What? did you think that when I was a kid, I called him Chief, or Dr. Webber?"

Alex sunk further into his seat. "I feel like I'm going to my funeral."

"You are so melodramatic. It's just dinner."

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"Dad, we're here!" Meredith stepped into Richard Webber's home, followed closely by Alex, who looked positively frightened.

"Meredith, is it okay that I just walked into the Chief's house without knocking?" he whispered.

Meredith ignored Alex's grumblings and led him into the kitchen where Richard stood in front of a pot with a spoon in his hand. "Merry, I can't seem to figure out what I'm missing in this."

"Dad," she said, "Alex is here."

For a moment, the Chief looked flustered, which surprised Alex. He'd always thought of Richard Webber as a man who could not easily be surprised. "Oh, that's right," he said, wiping his hands on his apron. "Welcome, Dr. Karev. Sit, sit, I'm just finishing the sauce."

"Dad, don't you think it might be nice if you called him Alex?" she asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Of course. Welcome, Alex." The word seemed foreign on Richard Webber's tongue. It amazed Alex to see him acting so … normal.

"Thanks for having me, Chief." Despite the intimacy of this dinner, Alex would never be able to call Richard Webber anything other than "Chief."

"Think of it as a congratulatory dinner." Alex nodded in response, unable to think of a vocal response. "I heard you two stirred up quite the scene at the hospital yesterday," Richard said over his glasses at Meredith.

Meredith giggled in response and shrugged. "What's for dinner?" she asked.

Alex had never seen Meredith act so free. Her smile was easier than most days and her eyes sparkled as she danced around the kitchen pouring wine for everyone.

"I'm trying to make my mother's jambalaya, but it seems to be missing something." He paused for a moment and looked in Alex's direction. "Want to try it, Alex?" Alex was so shocked that he was being addressed that he nodded dumbly and walked toward the Chief.

"Are you sure you read the recipe thoroughly and correctly?" Meredith giggled again. She looked to Alex as he stood, taking the spoon from Richard. "I like to call that the disaster Thanksgiving of 2002 when Dad read cinnamon as cayenne, probably because he didn't want to wear his glasses."

"Meredith …" The Chief said, admonishingly, but nonetheless with a smile. "What do you think, Alex?"

"I think it's good, Sir."

Richard nodded, then turned his attention back to Meredith. "Merry, will you finish setting the table?"

She nodded. "Want to help, Alex?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she walked into another room. Alex quickly followed, mostly because he was not comfortable with staying in the same room as Chief Webber alone.

"Are you serious?" he asked, quietly.

Meredith gave him a curious look. "I told you he was my step-dad." Her gaze refocused behind him and Alex realized that Chief Webber had entered the room. "It smells good, Dad." Alex moved so that the Chief could place the large bowl of jambalaya on the table.

Alex sat where Meredith pointed and served himself some jambalaya when the bowl came around. "I went and saw Mom today," she told the Chief. Alex was alarmed that Meredith would even bring up Richard's ex-wife.

"Was it a good day or a bad day?"

Meredith smiled and shrugged. "She thought I was a nurse, but she did talk about you and what a stud you are." She giggled. "She said that one time, you two went into the on-call room-"

Alex choked on his food. "Meredith!" Richard Webber yelled.

"Well imagine how I felt hearing about my mother and my father getting it on in the on-call room! My mommy was a dirty whore." Meredith smiled broadly with the hints of a laugh in her eyes.

Alex couldn't help it, he laughed. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was welcome. Meredith Grey and Richard Webber were a dysfunctional family brought together by a circumstance beyond their control. And Alex felt like he fit right in.

Rather than respond, Richard changed the subject, "So, Alex, how do you like Seattle?"

Alex contemplated the Chief's question. "It's wet. But I like living in a real city. You know, the biggest thing in Iowa is corn."

The Chief chuckled. "I went through Des Moines once. I went to bed at 7 that night because I was so bored."

"Dad! You did not!" Meredith said, indignantly. She looked to Alex, "Trust me, he didn't."

Alex grinned. "Trust me. He did."


	4. Lean On Me

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Chapter 4: "Lean on Me"

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"So that was weird," Alex said once he'd settled into Meredith's Jeep.

"Oh come on, Dad is just a normal guy, just like you or anyone else."

"I know," Alex mused. "That's what's so weird. I mean, come on, the guy is the chief of surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital. Eating dinner with the Chief is like getting drunk with your high school teacher. It's weird."

"I guess," Meredith conceded. "I have to stop at the store. Do you mind?" she asked, though she was already pulling into the parking lot. When Alex started to take off his seatbelt, Meredith stopped him. "I'm going to be, like, two minutes. Just wait here." Alex shrugged and stayed behind.

The moments alone gave him a chance to contemplate his night with Richard Webber, surgeon extraordinaire, and his relationship with Meredith. Though they weren't actually related, it seemed like they had one of the best parent-child relationships he had ever witnessed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the opening and shutting of the trunk. "Did you time me?" Meredith asked.

Alex laughed and shook his head. "Meredith?" he asked, his thoughts returned to her and her family. "What happened to your real dad?"

Meredith put her Jeep back in park and turned the car off before turning to look at Alex. "Richard Webber _is _my real dad," she said, almost forcefully. "He adopted me and everything. As for my mother's first husband … he left us a long time ago, and I honestly have no idea where he is or if he's even alive still." A tear formed in her eye and Meredith let out a cynical laugh. "I don't even know why it still bothers me. I mean, I know it shouldn't, because I have Richard, and he's the best Dad that anyone could ever ask for."

Alex was sorry. He'd never meant to make her cry. He wanted to reach out, physically, and let her know it was okay, but he couldn't make himself move. Instead, he watched as she took one last deep breath to control her emotions. She steadied herself and reached back to the ignition, turning the key. He wanted to tell her about his own crappy childhood and how she was lucky that her father never came back. But he couldn't.

He was surprised when they pulled up to his house, but even more surprised to hear her voice. "He would have had to sign the papers to let Richard adopt me," she whispered. This time, Alex forced his hand over to her, grabbing her hand to remind her she wasn't alone.

"Want to play Rockband?" he asked. It wasn't what he meant to come out at all, but he was glad it did.

Her response was elicited in a giggle, then a full-out laugh, and eventually an emphatic nod. "I bought you some Coronas and limes for a celebration present," she told him, still laughing.

"That was what the all-important trip to the grocery store was about, Grey?" he asked. She nodded. "Sweet."

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"Grey, you are the worst Rockband player in history," Alex announced, falling onto the couch in a fit of laughter.

"At least I know the words!" she argued. She collapsed next to Alex. "I'm done. Cut me off before I attack the tequila." She halfheartedly threw a slice of lime at Alex.

"Oh come on, I thought this was a celebration!" Alex whined.

"It is. I just have to drive home. I _thought _I might be responsible and not be drunk when I drive."

Alex shrugged. "Fine. Drive home at three in the morning. Kill yourself and someone else, see if I care."

"Alex!" Meredith shrieked. "You just want to get me in bed with you again!"

"Admit it, you don't want to go home to Bambi and Barbie anymore than you want to work with She-Shepherd." He sat back triumphantly as he handed her another beer. "Why do you have roommates if you don't like them there or even need them there? Isn't it your mom's house? Shouldn't it be all paid for?"

Meredith sipped her Corona. "That's just it. It's my mother's house. Not having roommates would make it mine." She turned to look at him, seriously. "I'm not ready for that, yet." She let her head rest on the couch behind her and closed her eyes.

Alex studied her face for a moment and considered how small she looked at that moment. "Is it hard? Seeing Shepherd and She-Shepherd everyday?" he asked.

Meredith kept her eyes closed. "I wish I'd never met Derek Shepherd. At the very least, I wish I'd told my dad that I was involved with him at the very beginning so that he could have told me Derek was married. I just … I wish they would go away." She sat up and opened her eyes. "I mean, they have a life in New York. Shouldn't they be _there_?" Meredith fell over dramatically. "What about you and Izzie? Regrets?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah," Alex exhaled. He sipped his beer thoughtfully. "Izzie's cool, but she … wanted me to be someone I'm not. I don't play nice with others. I don't do the whole group bonding thing. We went on, like, half a date, and then she was all like, 'You've got to hang out with me and George and blah blah blah.' I don't know how you can stand it."

Meredith sighed. "She means well."

"Yeah, well, so did the US in Vietnam, and look how that turned out."


	5. Who'll Stop the Rain

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. I loooove Meredith and Alex together (as if this story wasn't proof enough of that), and I'm so glad that other people do, too.

Just something to mention: Meredith's mother was never treated at Seattle Grace, so the hospital does not know about Ellis Gray's Alzheimer's.

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Chapter 5: "Who'll Stop the Rain"

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"Are you going to tell us where you've been the past two nights?" Cristina asked. She sat perched on the bench staring at Meredith expectantly.

Meredith laughed. "No where, really."

"Seriously, I've been here for four hours already and I really don't care what you were doing, or who you were doing it with, but George and Izzie are really starting to annoy me. Do something about it!" she snapped at Meredith before turning to leave the locker room.

Meredith and Alex exchanged a look and a guilty smile before leaving the locker room. They immediately found their fellow interns standing in front of Bailey.

"Yang, you're with Burke. O'Malley – Torres, Stevens – Montgomery-Shepherd, Karev and Grey, you're scrubbing in with Shepherd. No complaining, let's go, people."

Izzie gave the pair a fleeting glance before leaving to find Addison. Meredith and Alex were involved in an apparently serious conversation. "I swear, if you keel over dead from salmonella poisoning today, I'm going to pilfer your apartment and then celebrate."

"You wouldn't be the least bit upset?" Alex asked. "Or guilty? It's your fault I was hung over today!"

"But it's not my fault you masochistically ingested a raw egg-"

"Karev, Grey, I'm glad you have time to lollygag, but I've got lives to save." Derek Shepherd stood before them, clipboard in hand. "If you'd rather, I can find other interns."

"No, Dr. Shepherd, that won't be necessary," Meredith spoke, but refused to meet his eyes.

"Very well. Meredith, I'll need you enter some information on the computer for me. Dr. Karev, go check on the patient." Alex locked eyes with Meredith briefly. She nodded at him, silently telling him that she was okay.

"I'd appreciate it if you would call me Dr. Grey, please," she told him, taking the clipboard from him. "I'll use the computer at the nurse's station."

Derek caught Meredith's arm in her hand. "Don't do this," he said quietly.

"Dr. Shepherd, I know you're not mishandling my intern because you're not stupid." Dr. Bailey appeared out of nowhere, nodding her head at Derek. "And since you're not stupid, you're going to let her go, or I'll put you on scut, even if you are my boss."

Meredith sent a quick, thankful smile at Bailey and scurried off before Derek could say or do anything else.

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Alex wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the look of the guy talking to Meredith at the nurse's station. Something told him to stay and watch things unfold, poised to jump in at any moment. Just in case she needed help. Not that Meredith Grey often needed help.

The fact that she was smiling, though, was a good thing. He almost turned away, satisfied that she was okay, when he saw Derek Shepherd stalking toward them, anger evident in each step.

Though he saw it coming, Alex was just as surprised as Meredith and Mystery Dude when he saw Derek's fist connect with the guy's face.

"What the hell was that!?" Meredith shrieked. Alex's jaw remained open. Meredith helped the guy up and took him away, presumably to stop the blood from pouring out of his skin, while Derek continued to shake his hand in pain.

Alex chose to follow Meredith, certain that their surgery would now be cancelled. He joined Izzie, George, and Cristina, who'd already secured a spot outside of the trauma room where Meredith stood, gently cleaning the guy's wound.

"Come to check on Meredith?" Izzie asked, sarcastically.

Cristina and Alex rolled their eyes, almost in sync. Alex was about to respond in kind when the man took the stitches and began suturing his own face. Then it clicked.

"Why is he suturing his own face?" George asked, mystified.

"To turn me on," Cristina responded, not taking her eyes off the man or his hands.

Finally, Alex got it out. "He's Mark Sloan," he answered with excitement. "He's the go-to plastic surgeon on the East Coast."

"Whoever he is, he's hot," Izzie offered.

"What's he doing here?" George asked.

"Besides hitting on Meredith?" Alex asked, smirking slightly. He loved to rile up George. "He's probably the dude that She-Shepherd had sex with. And now he's here to piss off Shepherd even more, which, judging from his face, worked." With that, Alex entered the trauma room, leaving the other three behind.

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On account of her mother's home calling, Meredith was sent home early to tend to the latest episode her mother had gone through. On account of his fist connecting with Mark's face, Derek was sent home early. Addison had disappeared somewhere, and Mark kept showing up everywhere.

"So this Meredith, she was with Derek?" he asked. Alex was in the middle of charts when Mark Sloan made his presence known.

Part of him wanted to tell Dr. Sloan everything, on the off chance that he stayed and Alex could get in on some surgeries. But Meredith was not some play thing for anyone. "You were with She-Shepherd?" he asked in return.

Alex could feel Mark Sloan still staring at him. "I came to make amends with Derek."

"Then hitting on his ex-girlfriend probably isn't the way to go." Alex remained focused on the chart that sat before him.

"I think my face told me that already." Then, "Too bad I already asked her on a date." Alex's head snapped to attention at that. "And I hate to break dates with hot women." Mark chuckled. "I heard you have an interest in plastics. You want to scrub in on this lionitis case?"

Despite wanting to punch this dude in the face to give him a matching scar on the other cheek, Alex dropped his chart. "Yes sir," he told him.

"Well, then, Dr. …"

"Karev."

"Whatever. What do you know about this Meredith?" he asked. "Like, what's a good place to take her on a date?"

"Did she say yes?" Alex asked.

"No, but, come on. I sutured my own face. She will."


	6. The Tracks of my Tears

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Chapter 6: "The Tracks of my Tears"

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Meredith banged into the locker room with a sour look on her face. "Hey, hey, some people have hangovers today. Have a little respect, Mer," Alex growled.

"Yeah, and some people have their ex-boyfriend's wife and her ex-boyfriend following her around the hospital, so the next time you decide to have a hangover, invite me to partake, would ya?" Meredith sat next to him on the bench. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Meredith slumped into herself.

"What do they want with you?" he asked. He already knew most of the story, and for that he felt guilty.

"Dr. Sloan, he keeps asking me out, and She-Shepherd, well she keeps telling me it's not a good idea. Like I didn't know that for myself." She looked at him. "When is this going to end? When am I just going to have a normal life? When do I get to stop being the dirty mistress?"

Alex ignored her questions, mostly because he didn't know how to answer them. "Is your mom okay?"

Meredith closed her eyes. "My mother will never be okay."

Their peace and quiet was abruptly interrupted by the cacophony created by Izzie, George, and Cristina rushing into the locker room. "What's wrong with you?" Cristina asked, looking pointedly at Meredith.

"Don't mind her, she's a dirty mistress," Alex joked. Meredith cracked a smile.

"You're such an ass," Izzie told him.

Once they were finished getting dressed, all five interns made their way into the hall. "Grey, I don't know what Gods you pissed off, but you were requested by Shepherd, She-Shepherd, and Sloan." Bailey stared at her over her clipboard. "Let's try Sloan today. Try not to get anyone else punched." Alex watched Meredith walk away dejectedly. "So that puts Karev with Shepherd, and Stevens you take She-Shepherd. Yang, Burke. O'Malley, Torres. Now get out of my hair."

Alex found Dr. Shepherd in his office. "Where's Me- … Where's Dr. Gray?"

"She's with Dr. Sloan." Derek looked at Alex with a great deal of anger and confusion on his face. "You, your wife, and Sloan requested her. Take it up with Bailey."

"Sloan?" he asked. "That rat-" Derek straightened suddenly. "That's fine. You started the case yesterday, you can scrub in on the surgery. Go prep the patient." Alex didn't move. "Dr. Karev, if you'd rather stand around all day, I can find another intern."

"Meredith," he began, unsure of where he was going to take this. Derek looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "Leave her alone. I know you could probably end my career for this, but … you and your wife and that dude need to leave her alone. And stop punishing her. It's not her fault that you lied to her. And she can't get over you if you won't leave her alone." He turned to leave, but hesitated for a moment before turning to face Derek again. "And just because Meredith won't, don't think I won't tell the chief."

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Things were tense in the operating room, but Alex didn't mind. It was worth getting off his chest. At lunch, he found Meredith sitting at a table with the rest of the interns.

"How was plastics?" he asked.

"Arrogant," she answered simply.

"Yeah, but he's hot. Are you going to say yes?" Izzie asked. The entire floor knew about Dr. Sloan's recent quest to get Meredith to go on a date with him.

"I might, if just to piss off the Shepherds."

George remained quiet throughout the discussion of Dr. Sloan, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with everyone by staring at his food. "The guy's arrogant because he can be. He's got the hands of a God," Alex offered.

Meredith smirked. "Do _you _want to go on a date with him?" Alex made a face at Meredith, then winked.

Simultaneously, all of their pagers went off. There was a collective groan as all five interns ditched their food and ran for the nurse's station to find Bailey.

"We have an incoming trauma. Car accident, we have three victims: One male and two females. Let's go greet them downstairs." The interns trailed behind Bailey like ducklings behind their mother.

The first ambulance arrived. "Fifty-seven year old male, driver of the car, suffered severe head trauma and lacerations. The wife is coming in the next bus, but she reported him blacking out right before the accident."

"Alright, Grey, take him up to OR1." Bailey turned to the paramedic. "Do we have a name for him?"

"Thatcher Grey." Alex's head snapped up to look at Meredith at the recognition of the last name. Meredith stared down at the man in the gurney, frozen.

"Meredith!" he said, trying to snap her out of it. When it didn't work, he called to his boss, "Bailey! Meredith can't be on this case."

Bailey looked at Alex, "Dr. Karev, since when do you get to-"

He interrupted her, for the first and last time ever, and quite abruptly. "He's her father." Bailey turned to Meredith to witness the glazed look in Meredith's eyes as she continued to stare at her biological father.

"O'Malley, take over for Grey. Karev, get her out of here! " She turned back. "Somebody page Montgomery-Shepherd, one of them is pregnant."

When Meredith wouldn't move on her own, Alex swooped her up and carried her to the chief's office, not knowing where else to take her. She leaned into his shoulder, unconsciously craving contact with him.

Richard Webber looked up as Alex erupted into his office carrying Meredith. His heart broke for his little girl. "Meredith?" he asked, standing. When she didn't respond, he looked to Alex for help.

"Umm … Thatcher Grey was just admitted into the hospital for trauma due to a car crash. He and … his, uh, family."

If there had ever been a time when Richard Webber had been angrier than this moment, he couldn't remember it. Not that his anger was rational. For all intents and purposes, Seattle Grace was a hospital, and Thatcher Grey had every right to be there to receive treatment. In theory.

Alex slowly backed out of the office to leave father and daughter alone, though part of him wished he could stay to comfort his friend.


	7. Runaway

For those of you itching for some MerAlex lovin', you're going to have to wait a little bit. I know, I'm so sorry. I just don't want to have them jump into it ... but there are plenty of scenes between them that scream love.

Thanks so much for all the reviews! I hope you guys keep enjoying. :)

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Chapter 7: "Runaway"

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"I didn't even know she had a father," George said, as he and the other interns stood around.

Izzie scoffed. "Everyone has a father, George." She stretched. "Just not everyone's father has an entire secret family that doesn't involve his daughter."

That day, it had been all hands on deck. Dr. Shepherd had performed an eight hour surgery on Thatcher Grey for his subdural hematoma that had formed as a result of the accident. The team had also discovered a tumor, which likely caused his reported blackout prior to the accident.

As for Thatcher's wife, she had minor injuries and was in a room talking to Dr. Shepherd at that moment, maybe about her husband, but probably about her daughter, who was pregnant this morning.

The stress of the accident caused Molly Thompson to go into premature labor. Though Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd had done everything she could to keep her from having the baby, the little girl came out, two months premature. The baby needed to be constantly monitored, while the mother had lost a sufficient amount of blood.

"Where is Meredith?" George asked. They all looked at Alex, who'd they'd seen carry her off this morning.

"And how did you know that man was her father?" Izzie asked, accusingly.

"Give it up," Cristina growled. "And leave her alone." Truth was, she'd been calling Meredith all day, to no avail. As much as she wanted to be angry with Meredith for not coming to her, she was more angry with herself for not being available.

"She's our roommate! Not like we've even seen her for the past few days." Izzie looked at Alex, briefly. "I mean, you live with a person, you expect them to actually talk to you! She's-"

"Would you just shut up?" Alex interrupted, not able to take Izzie's rambling for another moment. He stood abruptly and walked away. The truth was that he wasn't exactly sure where Meredith was. There was any number of options. Most likely, the Chief had taken her home to let her relax. The only problem with that was that the Chief was still at the hospital, in surgery.

Alex checked out with Bailey and left, trying to remember the exact way to the Chief's house. After driving for an hour, he finally pulled up in front of the house he'd eaten dinner in a few days prior. There were no lights on, but he chanced it anyway and knocked on the door.

When no one answered, he went back to his truck and sat. He had to find Meredith to make sure that she was okay, and the Chief was the only person who could answer that question.

The Chief pulled up an hour and a half later, looking tired and dejected. Alex launched himself out of his truck. Richard Webber looked at the boy who stood before him and said nothing. Instead, he nodded and the two entered the house together.

Alex followed Richard Webber upstairs. As the approached their destination, they could hear her sobs through the closed door. Alex wanted to leapfrog the Chief and run in to make sure that she was okay. But he followed behind, respectfully, and let Richard Webber take care of his daughter.

He felt like an outside observer, as he watched his boss gather his friend in his arms and softly whisper reassuring, "Shhh"s into her ear.

"Daddy?" she asked, through her tears. "He's … he … he lives here? And he never …" Meredith broke down all over again. "I have a sister! And a niece!" Her voice was raw and scratchy.

All at once, Alex felt like he shouldn't be there. He turned to leave and was stopped by the Chief's voice. "I have to go back to the hospital, sweetheart." His voice was pained, his regret evident. "But Alex is here," he said, reassuringly. "Okay?"

Meredith continued crying, but nodded nonetheless.

"I don't want to see you at the hospital tomorrow, is that clear?" he asked, looking pointedly at Alex. Alex nodded, understanding that Meredith was now his responsibility. "Alex, you're looking sick. If you're sick, I don't want you inside my hospital." Richard Webber stood and nodded his head at Alex before shuffling back downstairs to return back to his job.

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Feeling awkward in Chief Webber's house, Alex had gathered up Meredith and taken her to his house. He laid her on the couch with her head in his lap. Together, they sat watching whatever was on television, welcoming a distraction. Alex stroked her hair, wanting to provide her with some sort of comfort.

For the fifteenth time since Alex had been with Meredith that evening, her phone buzzed. She looked at the screen, then threw it back on the table. Alex didn't ask anything about it, which was probably why they were such good friends.

Next, his own phone vibrated. It was Izzie. He picked it up. "What?" he asked. Meredith didn't budge.

"Where are you?" Izzie asked.

"Home."

"How can you be home at a time like this? Meredith is missing. Like, 1-800-MISSING. We've tried Joe's and she's not home-"

"Did you call her phone?" he asked, knowing full well that they had. Meredith turned her head to look up at Alex and gave a small, amused smile.

"Of course we called her phone, Alex! Do you think we're complete idiots!?" Izzie was silent for a moment. "Will you just … if you see her, will you tell her to call us, so that we know she's not dead, or anything."

"You'll probably see her before I do. I caught the flu from my patient today. The Chief told me to stay out of his hospital, so I don't infect anyone else."

"Whatever. Just, let her know we're worried about her." Izzie hung up the phone before he could respond.

"I'm supposed to tell you that they're worried about you," Alex told Meredith, but remained focused on the television. "But, don't pick up the phone the next time they call. I don't want them to …" He wasn't sure what he meant, or where he was going with it, so he dropped it.

"Alex?" Meredith asked. He looked down at her. "Do you have any tequila?" Alex nodded and moved to stand up. "And chick flicks?" she added.

"Grey, you're killing me," he told her, but a smile played at his lips, happy that she was at least talking now.


	8. Walk this Way

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Chapter 8: "Walk this Way"

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Meredith was laughing, which was all he really wanted. "Baseball? Listen, I know you're a jock and you do the whole … boy jock thing, but what makes you think that _I _want to go to a baseball game? Does Seattle even have a baseball team?"

"Seriously?" Alex stood, stunned. He gave an exaggerated point to his Seattle Mariners shirt that he wore.

"I'm kidding."

"Get up, we're going." Alex tugged on Meredith's hand. When she didn't budge, he warned her, "Listen, you're going whether I have to drag you kicking and screaming. I don't intend to waste my day off."

"It's my day off, "Meredith said. "You're hijacking it."

"You going to tell your daddy?" he asked with a smirk.

"I can't wear these clothes." She pointed to her jeans and sweater.

And for once, Alex agreed with her. "No, you can't. Don't you have some sort of tank top in your car-"

"My car, at the hospital?" she asked. "Izzie and George are at the hospital, so if we could just drop by the house," she didn't get to finish because Alex had already disappeared into his room. "Was I talking? Am I even here?"

She followed him and pinched the tender part of the back of his upper arm. "Damnit, what the hell was that for!?" Alex jumped. Meredith smiled, completely proud of herself. "Here, wear this," Alex shoved a white ribbed tank top her way. "It's from when I was in high school … and from when I was … smaller than I am now. I'll buy you a shirt when we get to the game."

Meredith smiled. "Seriously? Are you afraid if you take me home, I'll never come back?" But she was already stripping herself of her sweater and pulling the tank top over her head.

"I don't want to take the chances that one of your roommates stayed home today." He threw a zip-up hoodie her way and put on his aviator sunglasses. For a fleeting moment, Meredith was struck by how handsome he looked in that moment. She shrugged off the feeling and let him lead her to his car. "What did you say to them anyway?"

Meredith looked at him, puzzled. "Crap!" she spit out. "I never answered their calls!"

Alex looked at her incredulously. "And there's no search party out?" he asked.

Meredith shrugged and took her phone out of her bag and turned it on. "I have 12 messages and 27 text messages," she told Alex.

"Well, let's hear how much your friends love you." Alex nodded at her phone.

Meredith looked apprehensive, but nonetheless called her voicemail and put it on speaker.

"You have 12 unheard voice messages. Message 1:"

"Hey, Meredith, it's Izzie. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Call us if you need anything," Izzie's voice sounded soothing and worried. Meredith closed her eyes, knowing that she should have called her. She deleted the message and moved onto the next one.

"Mer, it's me." It was Cristina. "Listen, this whole daddy thing, you should just ignore it." There was silence for a moment. "I'm dating Burke. There. It's your turn. Bye."

Meredith's eyes grew wide at Cristina's announcement, while Alex nearly swerved off the road. "Don't erase that one!" he practically screamed.

"Hey, Meredith, it's George. I'm sure you already knew that, because … well, anyway, you can call me and talk to me. I'm here for you if you nee-" Meredith didn't wait for the rest of the message to delete it.

"Hi. Meredith. It's Izzie." Izzie's voice was now trying to sound supportive and trying not to sound angry. "We're all at the house. Waiting for you, so if you want to come home, that'd be great." Izzie's call was followed by a couple of hang ups, which Meredith deleted.

"Merry, it's Dad. I should be off tomorrow early in the evening. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay last night," his voice sounded pained, and Alex's heart jumped for the guy. "Call me when you can, sweetheart."

"Meredith." Meredith's head snapped down at the phone, wondering what he was doing calling her. "I'm not sure what's going on, with your … father and you. I just want to make sure that you're handling this okay. Please, call me." It was Derek. Alex could feel his blood boiling. Hadn't he told that guy to leave her alone?

The last message played. "Hey, fellow dirty mistress. I was wondering where and when I could pick you up for that dinner." Alex could hear the shit-eating grin that Mark Sloan wore over the phone. He wanted to groan, do something, but his message was making Meredith smile, which was a change from the rest of the messages. "I'm staying at the W, if you'd like to stop by."

Meredith was giggling as she hung up her voicemail. "He's got balls, you have to give him that." Alex silently agreed, but would never forthrightly express his opinion of the guy. He was a little to smarmy for Meredith, in Alex's opinion, but he decided to keep that to himself.

Alex was especially silent as Meredith called Cristina, Izzie, and George in that order to tell them that she was fine, she was taking the day off, she was sorry for worrying them, and she'd be around tomorrow, maybe.

After a quick call to the Chief, Meredith settled into her seat. "So what do you do at a baseball game?" she asked.

Alex tried his best hold back his smile and appear to be frustrated with her. "You're such a girl, Grey."

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"Should I take you to your dad's house?" Alex asked. Meredith was curled up in the seat next to him, wearing her newly-purchased Seattle Mariners jersey.

Meredith nodded, absentmindedly. The two rode together in a comfortable silence after a fun day at the ballpark. When he pulled up to Chief Webber's house, Meredith remained in her seat. "I don't know who it's harder on, me or him." She stared at the house thoughtfully. Something in her voice told Alex that he didn't have to respond, that she just needed to say it. Meredith looked at him. "Are you coming in?" she asked.

He wanted to, but he thought better of it. "Naw, you and your dad should probably talk, or something."

Meredith nodded. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the front seat of Alex's truck and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Alex." Before he could respond, she had disappeared out of his truck and was already running up the walkway to her dad's house.

And, suddenly, his truck felt very cold and empty.


	9. Tell it Like it Is

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Chapter 9: "Tell it Like it Is"

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Cristina was staring at him and it was really starting to freak him out. "What?" he asked, barely looking up from his charts. It had been two days since Alex had seen Meredith, three since anyone else had seen her.

"I don't care if you're sleeping together."

Alex's head snapped up. "Yang, you're so far off-base," he growled at her.

"So you don't know where she is?" she asked.

"She just saw her father for the first time since she was a kid. Give her a God damned break, would you?" He jumped off the gurney and went to find some place quieter, some place where his fellow interns couldn't bug him.

"I just. I'm her person," Cristina yelled out. Alex stopped. He didn't want to do this here, or now, but part of him felt like he owed it to Meredith. Cristina jogged to catch up with him. "She has no one else. I mean, her mother is off doing whatever it is that she does in another country. Her father is lying somewhere in this hospital on his deathbed, and she's got, like, a family, and everything that she never knew about. I just want to know if she's in a ditch somewhere that I need to dig her out of, or whatever."

It suddenly occurred to Alex that no one else knew that Chief Webber was her dad. It made sense; Meredith hid everything else in her life.

"Yang, she's a tough broad. She's probably fine."

Cristina grabbed Alex's arm roughly. "I need to _know_ that she's fine."

Alex looked around to ensure that they were alone. "She's fine."

Cristina looked utterly relieved. Then her stoic face returned. "You tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," she added before hurrying off.

Alex took out his Blackberry and sent a message to Meredith: "You'd better not be at a baseball game without me." He imagined her opening it and giggling, which gave him motivation to get through another twenty minutes before he was off of work.

After he changed and gathered his things, Alex went in search of Chief Webber. He found him talking to Dr. Shepherd, or rather, trying his best not deck Dr. Shepherd in the jaw. "This is utterly irresponsible. She can't just miss three days of work, during an internship and expect to come back and step back into it! There need to be repercussions!"

Chief Webber stood with his arms crossed and his face hardened. "Dr. Shepherd, this is my hospital. If you have a problem with how I run things, perhaps you should find another hospital."

"She is here to learn, how can she learn if she's not even here!?"

There was entirely too much emotion in his voice. His wife stepped up beside him and grabbed his arm gently. "Derek, her father … you just operated on her father." Alex witnessed the Chief wincing at these words. "You can't honestly expect her to be here!"

"Whatever, if you all want to be so flippant with her career … just don't expect me to let her scrub in on any of my surgeries anytime soon." He walked away, and Alex saw a look of relief in Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd's eyes. She gave an apologetic look to the Chief and followed Derek into the elevator.

"Dr. Karev," Chief Webber said. "My office?" he asked. Alex nodded and followed the Chief. "I suppose you'd like to know how Merry's doing." Alex nodded. "She's fine. I expect her back at work tomorrow. I have a surgery scheduled tonight, but you're more than welcome to go see her if you'd like."

"I don't want to step on any toes-"

"Karev, don't insult me or my daughter by trying to be polite." Though the statement was rather caustic, Chief Webber winked at Alex, which was all Alex needed to know that he was expected at the Webber house as soon as he could get his car there.

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"I was wondering when you were going to come rescue me. I feel like Rapunzel. My car's still at the hospital, you know." Meredith ushered her friend into her father's house. Alex wasn't sure what he should tell her about his days at the hospital without her. So he let her talk. "He's been feeding me junk food. It's like he feels guilty for all the junk food he never let me have when I was a teenager." Meredith disappeared upstairs and reappeared with a bag. "Are you ready?"

"Are we running away?" Alex asked.

"I am! Take me out of this house! Dad doesn't even have cable!"

A laugh bubbled up from Alex's stomach. "Come on, Grey, let's go." Meredith squealed and jumped up to hug Alex. She ran out to his truck, nearly forgetting to lock the door behind her.

"He made me suture bananas and chickens all day." Meredith changed the radio station. She reminded Alex of a teenager who was enjoying her first moments of freedom after being grounded for weeks. "That's what I get for saying I needed to cut something open. Bananas and chickens." For the first time, it Alex realized that the reason was a great surgeon Meredith might be because of her step-dad and not because of her mother.

"Yeah, well, things weren't all roses with you gone from the hospital." She nodded, as if she already knew that. "I mean, Yang's a mess. Izzie's treating me like I took you out into the desert and dumped your body there. And George, yah, well, he's on his rag." Meredith fell over in a fit of giggles. Alex liked that Meredith thought he was funny. It was rare that anyone found him amusing in a good way.

"Have you seen him?" she asked, becoming suddenly sober.

It took him half of a moment to figure out what she was talking about. "He'll be okay. Shepherd operated on him. His … are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked as he sent a glance her way.

"I guess … I should probably know before I go in tomorrow. Don't you think?"

Alex nodded. "When we get out of the car, we're done talking about it." Then, "Is that cool?" Meredith smiled in agreement. "His wife is fine. Minor scrapes and bruises. Their daughter," he paused to see if that elicited a response from Meredith. When she said nothing, he continued, "is going to be okay. She was in ICU for blood loss for a day or two. And her baby was premature, but it's okay. In an incubator."

"Does his daughter … do I look like I'm part of their family?"

"His daughter doesn't hold a candle to you, Grey."

"Thank you, Alex."

"You're not going to get all sentimental and crap on me, are you?"

Meredith guffawed and hit Alex softly on the arm. "No. I've been to a baseball game. There's no crying in baseball."

"That's my girl." Alex sent a reassuring look at his friend and the two rode the rest of the way home in silence.


	10. Great Balls of Fire

Thanks sooo much for all of the feedback. I really, truly appreciate it. I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying the story!

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Chapter 10: "Great Balls of Fire"

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Meredith sat in Alex's truck for a moment, frozen. "I can do this," she said. Alex nodded, though he wasn't sure that she was talking to him. She turned suddenly to face him. "And if I can't?" she asked.

Alex realized what she wanted and he was only too happy to give it to her, "Then I'll save you."

Meredith smiled. "And we'll go see another baseball game?" Alex raised his eyebrows. "I already have the shirt."

Alex nodded. "We'd better get out of the car before anyone sees us together."

Meredith chuckled. "I think that's the least of my worries. Let them think I'm sleeping with you." She opened the door and got out of the truck.

Alex ran around to catch up to her as she headed into the hospital. "Grey, if I'm accused of sleeping with someone, I damn well better be getting some." They approached the doors to Seattle Grace and Alex felt Meredith's tiny hand on his arm. "We can run, right now, if you want. We'll drive to Vancouver, wherever you want," Alex offered. And he was serious.

Meredith smiled. "No, I can do this." Together, they walked through the doors and into the locker room.

"Meredith!" George practically screamed. Suddenly, Izzie and George had her cornered and their mouths were moving a mile a minute, neither mentioning the fact that Meredith had been MIA or any of the other issues that had surfaced the past few days.

"You guys are acting like her dog died." Cristina shot them a death stare. "I'm going to ask you once. Are you okay?"

Meredith nodded. "I'm fine." The way she used fine shocked everyone. It wasn't the normal, terse "fine" that they usually got from Meredith during a crisis. It was a nonchalant fine, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

Cristina turned to George and Izzie. "She's fine. Leave her alone."

As much as Alex didn't get along with Cristina, he had a lot of respect for her, and this moment showed him why.

"I'd hate to break up the party, but rounds are in 5 minutes," Alex reminded everyone, particularly Meredith. She nodded at him and went to change into her scrubs.

A couple of minutes later, the group of interns exited the locker room in order to find Bailey. Bailey stood in the hall with a clipboard in her hands. "Good to have you back, Grey," was all she said about Meredith's return, for which Meredith was thankful.

Bailey handed out her assignments, which were getting more and more predictable these days. The only difference was that Meredith was assigned to the ER, probably more because of her family issues than the fact that she'd missed a few days of work.

Alex took his usual post with Mark Sloan, who would no doubt bother him again for information on Meredith. Alex wondered if Meredith had called him back, ever, but the question was fleeting and soon forgotten, as Mark Sloan shoved charts at him. "And get me a coffee," he growled at Alex.

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Meredith sat on her stool in the ER, feeling like if she sutured anything else, she'd throw up. Another intern approached Meredith and she smiled. "Are you here to relieve me?" The intern did not look the least bit amused or happy about this assignment, which somehow made Meredith feel better.

"So I hear there's this place called Joe's?" Meredith had been looking for her keys in the bottom of her bag when Mark Sloan approached her.

"It's across the street," she told him, straightening.

"Is this a place that you frequent?" Mark Sloan was giving her his best smirk and his sexiest eyes.

Meredith laughed. "I've been known to partake on the occasion."

"Will you be partaking tonight?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I was thinking about it." Her answer was honest, but not whole. She was thinking about it, but only if Alex was thinking about it. Which was likely.

"So maybe I'll see you there?" Mark was standing close to her and whispering in a low, sexy tone that sent chills up Meredith's spine.

"Maybe," she flirted back. She wasn't sure why she was flirting back. She wasn't sure if it was because of Derek, or if it was because of her father, or if it was because Mark Sloan was a fine specimen of the male human species. Whatever it was, she felt herself blushing as she headed off to find Alex.

She found him doing some charts at the nurse's station. "So we're going to Joe's," she told him. Despite him still doing paperwork, he was dressed in his street clothes with his messenger bad slung over his shoulder.

Alex closed the chart and looked at her. "There a reason, or you just want to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?" The nurse raised her eyes at the two interns standing in front of her.

Meredith giggled. "Come on, Alex."

Alex shrugged and followed his friend. "You get everything squared away today?" Meredith gave him an incredulous look. "Not like I care. Your friends are annoying."

"My friends? They're your friends too, whether you like to admit it or not." Then, "Yeah, I talked to them at lunch. I don't think they want to shoot me anymore."

"Good, so I can finally stop babysitting you?" Alex joked. Immediately afterward, he put an arm around her neck and gave her a quick, gentle noogie on her head.

"Alex!" Meredith squealed.

The pair walked across the parking lot to Joe's. Meredith spotted Dr. Sloan sitting at a table. She tugged on Alex's coat and nodded at him. "He's why we're here? Grey, you're killing me. That man hates me!" Meredith looked at him with pleading eyes and Alex softened. "Fine. I'll be at the bar when you're ready to go home."

Meredith nodded and disappeared to go sit with Mark Sloan.

"Where you been?" Joe asked, setting a beer in front of Alex.

Alex shrugged. "I had things to do. Any new chicks been in?"

Joe shook his head. "Same old doctors and nurses. Look, Doc, I gotta be honest with you. If you want some fresh meat, you should probably go to another bar. Not that I want you to."

Alex chuckled. "Naw, it's cool." He glanced at Meredith, who seemed genuinely engaged and entertained by Mark Sloan. For reasons he could not explain, Alex stood and went over to join Mark and Meredith. Mark looked absolutely horrified, while Meredith smiled largely at her friend.

"Lonely at the bar?" she asked, sympathetically.

"I figured I'd let the other poor fools have a chance tonight."

"That's very big of you," she told him.


	11. I Can't Help Myself

I swear, Meredith and Alex are going to get together, eventually ... probably sooner than later. Thank you all so much for being patient!

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Chapter 11: "I Can't Help Myself"

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Testosterone was a strange thing. It was what made Alex challenge Mark Sloan to a game of darts, for no real reason at all. "The loser has to fetch coffee for a week," he challenged.

For all of the joking and teasing, Alex Karev had, in fact, been in a fraternity. He was a bona fide frat boy, which meant he could do darts. And he could do them well.

"You're on, Karev. A game of 501?" Mark proposed, already stripping himself of his heavy leather jacket.

Meredith sat, completely mystified by the events that had just unfolded in front of her. Alex nodded at her, "Mer, get us some beers, would you?" he asked.

"Oh, sure, because it's not like I want to play or anything," she told him, but nonetheless made her way to the bar as Alex threw a triple 20.

She heard Alex gloating as she walked way, and Mark Sloan grumbling something in return.

"Hey, Joe," Meredith greeted. She took a quick seat at the bar.

"Hey, Doc." Joe grabbed a rag and wiped the counter in front of her. "We doing tequila tonight?" he asked. Joe was a bit surprised by Meredith's presence. Not like she wasn't a regular, but she had been absent as of recently.

Meredith shook her head and nodded at her companions over by the dart board. "I'm playing the barmaid tonight. Three beers, please." Meredith thought a moment, and then added, " And put it on Alex's tab."

"This seat taken?" she heard. She knew by the voice, but Joe's reaction confirmed it. Derek.

Meredith jumped up and shook her head. "No, I was just leaving."

"Meredith," Derek whispered, in his McDreamy voice, coupled with his McDreamy smile. "Have a drink with me. We can be two friends, having a drink."

"No!" she said, forcefully. Perhaps a bit too forcefully.

Alex's head snapped in the direction from where Meredith's voice came. She was pushing Derek's hand off of her arm, which was all the reason Alex needed to intervene. He abandoned the game of darts mid-throw, with Mark Sloan right behind him.

Alex grabbed Derek's collar with both hands. "I told you to stay the fuck away from her," he threatened. Before Joe could voice any opposition to the two men having a brawl in his bar, Alex was already halfway out the door.

"Crap!" Meredith shrieked, running after them.

Mark Sloan seemed to be just along for the ride, as he followed the action wherever it went. Outside, Alex had Derek up against the wall of the building and was sprouting threat after threat. Meredith stood by helplessly. "You must be one hell of a lay," Mark joked, poking Meredith in the ribs.

"Hey!" Alex and Derek both yelled, looking at Mark.

"Alex!" Meredith yelled, seeing her opportunity to stop her friend from choking the hell out of her ex-boyfriend. She ran up and grabbed his arm, pulling Alex away from Derek. She pulled him inside with all of the strength she could muster and left Mark Sloan and Derek Shepherd outside.

"You can't blame the guy, I mean, you would have done the same thing. You did do the same thing," Mark tried to calm his former friend down.

Derek said nothing and, instead, straightened his collar and walked away.

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Alex and Meredith sat in his truck, both looking forward. Meredith abruptly turned in his direction and started to speak, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. She returned her gaze to the windshield.

"What?" Alex asked. His voice was dejected, as he sat awaiting punishment.

"You could have ended your career!" Meredith said finally. Her statement surprised Alex. He thought she was going to scold him for attacking Derek, for dragging him outside, for being childish. He turned to look at her with lost eyes. "Just, next time you want to be my knight in shining whatever, just make sure it's not your boss that you're trying to kill." She touched his hand gently. "I mean, I've kind of got an in with the Chief, but that'll only get you so far."

Tonight, it wasn't even a question where Meredith was headed. That night, they crawled into bed together, with no premise of it being for Meredith or because they were too drunk or it being too late. Tonight, it was for them.

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"Grey, you got one more day of the pit," Bailey told her, almost regretfully. "But do some charts first."

Meredith nodded. She wished she could be in surgeries with her fellow interns, but she was happy to not be in danger of running into Derek or Mark, for the morning at least. She and Alex had arrived early that morning, to escape any questions. She was sure, by now, that the hospital was rampant with gossip of how Alex tried to kill Derek, and she wanted no part in it. For now.

She grabbed some charts from the nurse's station, avoiding their curious glares, and set off in search of an empty gurney to do the charts.

"Meredith?" she heard. Meredith looked up to see a woman standing in front of her. "I'm sorry, Dr. Grey?" Meredith continued to look at her, but nodded. "I know, I would have known you anywhere. You look exactly like my Molly." Meredith struggled to breathe. "I'm Susan Grey," the woman finally introduced herself and stuck out her hand.

Meredith froze for a moment before she launched herself into the nearest door, shutting it behind her and dropping all of the charts in her arms.

She searched for a paper bag to control her breathing that was rapidly bordering on hyperventilating. The door to the supply closet and in walked Mark Sloan. "Are you okay?" he asked. He'd seen the scene unfold and knew Meredith was upset. He just didn't know what to do about it.

He stood in awkward silence as Meredith tried to speak. "I … I," was all that came out.

"Shhh," he told her, as he put an arm around her and brought her close to his chest. Mark Sloan had always been a sucker for crying girls.

"What the hell are you doing?" Derek erupted into the linen closet, after hearing mumblings about the previous moments.

"Oh, God!" Meredith said, almost laughing as she continued to uncontrollably cry.

"Meredith?" Derek asked. "Are you okay? Did he-"

The door slammed open once again and interrupted the scene. "Get away from her!" Alex growled at Derek, pushing past him. Mark Sloan graciously released Meredith from his grip and passed her onto her friend.

"Are you really with him now?" Derek asked, incredulously. "Will you really fuck anyone?" he asked.

By now half the hospital was watching through the open door. "Shepherd, my office. Now," the Chief's booming voice ordered. "The rest of you, get back to work!" Chief Webber closed the door behind him and nodded at Alex, who reluctantly let go of Meredith and left the linen closet.


	12. In the Still of the Night

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Chapter 12: "In the Still of the Night"

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Richard Webber was trying desperately to pull the dad card and the boss card, but Meredith would have neither. "Dad, I have a job today. I'm fine. Fine," she told him, trying to reassure herself. She didn't let him say anything else as she walked out of the linen closet, her head held high. Today was going to be a long day, she knew that.

Meredith saw Cristina, Izzie, and George all sitting at their regular lunch table whispering. Meredith knew that she was the topic of the day and walked directly to her normal seat and sat, causing all talk to stop immediately.

"I know. You're mad. And that's okay. I'm sorry that I haven't talked to you about … anything, really." She hoped this will clear the air, that somehow this would miraculously fix everything. She had been avoiding their phone calls like the plague, though, and Meredith knew deep down that this would only repair part of the friendships that she'd neglected for the last week or so.

"So you can talk to Alex about it, but not us?" Izzie's voice had adopted an offensive tone that Meredith knew would break easily. Izzie and George, she knew, would forgive her after a brief explanation. It was Cristina who would be the most difficult.

Meredith took a deep breath. "Alex doesn't ask questions. He doesn't do the thing where he hovers, and walks on eggshells. And I know that you guys are just trying to help, but I just needed to be left alone to figure stuff out for myself."

"Whatever," Cristina spat out as she got up to threw her tray away. Yes, Cristina would definitely be the most difficult.

"Are you and Alex, like, together?" George asked softly. His voice gave away his fear that Meredith had, in fact, become better than friends with Evil Spawn.

"No, and I'm not dating Sloan, and I'm also not hooking up with Dr. Shepherd. This, all this disappearing-"

"It's okay," Izzie cut her off. "You just should have come to us."

Meredith nodded at Izzie. "I'm sorry," she responded honestly.

"So did Alex totally beat down McDreamy last night or what?" Izzie asked. She leaned in, her regular smile returning to her face.

Meredith giggled. "Izzie!"

"I could beat up McDreamy, if I wanted to," George said.

"You could not!" Izzie squealed.

"George!" Meredith laughed, happy that things between she and Izzie and George had returned to normal. But, deep down, she was scared that her friendship with Cristina was beyond repair.

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Meredith's hand shot out and pushed the red button in the elevator, bringing it to a halt. "I have father issues," she said softly. Her face looked forward, waiting for a response.

"Tell me something I don't know," Cristina challenged. Her voice sounded almost bored.

"Richard Webber is my step-dad. He's my daddy. I have father issues, but not daddy issues." It felt good sharing this secret with her person. Meredith sighed in relief.

Cristina was silent for a little too long, and Meredith turned to face her. Cristina's jaw was hanging open. "I hate you! You're doubly inbred. God, I'd kill- Can I come over for dinner?"

Meredith smirked. "Are you still mad at me?"

"That is so not fair!" Cristina thought for a moment. "Are you going to tell him about me and Burke?"

Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"

Cristina pursed her lips. "Not yet."

"Then I won't, either," she told her.

"I'm not mad."

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Alex lay in bed, holding his pillow to his chest and staring at the ceiling. He'd been in bed for three hours and couldn't fall asleep. Perhaps it was the stress of the day, or the fact he didn't remember his bed being this uncomfortable, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sleep.

At one, he reluctantly rose and went to go heat up a glass of milk for himself. He remembered his mom used to make it for him when he was young and wondered if the milk actually did anything, or if it was just the comfort of his mom sitting next to him on the bed and rubbing his back.

He sat on his couch and turned on the television, not caring what was on. He laid his head back and held the milk in his hand. Alex hated warm milk.

His head jerked up, a sound startling him. It sounded like the turning of a key in his front door. Alex cautiously stood and walked to his entry hallway, waiting for the killer behind the door to enter.

Her blonde hair was what he saw first, as he instantly relaxed. "Couldn't stay away?" he asked, smiling mockingly.

"Shut up," Meredith said. There was embarrassment in her voice. "I was lying in bed and I remembered that I forgot to thank you for coming to my rescue today … and last night." She closed the door behind her.

"Admit it, you can't sleep without me anymore." Alex grinned cockily at her.

"Fine! It's just that … my bed is so big and Izzie and George are doing their hovering thing again, and I just … didn't want to wake up to-" she stopped speaking, abruptly. "What are you doing up?" she asked.

Alex bit his lip and searched for an explanation. "Couldn't sleep," he finally confessed.

"Ah ha!" she squealed, giggling. Meredith locked the door and walked past Alex.

"That doesn't mean anything, Grey, maybe I was reading."

This caused Meredith to break into full on laughter. "You don't have any books!"

Alex smiled to himself. "Get in bed, Grey, we have to get up soon."

"I thought you were reading!" Meredith yelled. She had happiness in her voice, which had been seriously lacking all day.

Alex started to respond, but stopped when he found her curled up in bed, waiting for him. "That's my pillow," he asserted.

"Oh, shut up!"


	13. Don't be Cruel

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay with this chapter; I had a busy week. Enjoy! I'll try not to take so long with the next chapter.

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Chapter 13: "Don't be Cruel"

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Meredith sat on a gurney, filling out post-op notes for Mark Sloan. He'd requested her for a simple plastic surgery earlier in the day and then asked her to complete the paperwork for him. Meredith happily obliged, realizing that the Grey family was still lose somewhere in Seattle Grace. So, in the tunnels, she hid.

Izzie appeared suddenly and quietly sat next to Meredith with her own charts in tow. "Where were you this morning?" she asked. "George went into your room with coffee, it was actually kind of cute …"

Meredith thought about lying. She thought about saying that she'd gone into the hospital early this morning in an attempt to not be on scut today. But, with all the avoiding and lying that Meredith had done the past few days with her friends, she decided to tell the truth.

"I couldn't sleep last night. So I went to Alex's." It was so simple, yet so difficult. Izzie didn't look up, but Meredith saw the smile forming on her face. "What?" she asked.

"You're so, like, into him," Izzie said as she fell over in fits of giggles.

"Izzie! I am not!" Meredith responded indignantly.

"Not what, Grey?" Alex came walking up to the two women and sat in between them on the gurney. His appearance only made Izzie laugh harder and louder.

"Nothing," she said, giving him a look that told him she would tell him later.

"How was Sloan today?" he asked.

"He said that since you didn't beat him, you need to buy him coffee for the week. He'll be in his office all afternoon." Meredith smiled at Alex, mockery evident in her eyes.

Alex grimaced. "Be a doll and take him one, okay?"

"Why? What do you have to do?"

"I have a special meeting with the Chief. Wish me luck," he told Meredith and Izzie, but mostly Meredith, as he jumped off the gurney and walked off.

"I wonder if it's because he almost killed Derek?" Izzie asked, watching Alex walk away. "He does have a cute ass, Mer."

"Izzie!" Meredith shrieked.

"What? How appropriate. He's an ass who has a great ass."

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Meredith hadn't seen Alex since that morning. She would ask her father about their meeting, but he was in surgery. She prolonged her departure from the locker room as long as she could by cleaning out her locker and just … sitting for a while.

Finally, at ten, she gathered her belongings and headed for her car.

"You leaving without me?" she heard from behind her. Meredith turned to see Alex, still in his scrubs. She stood, trying to be angry with him for not telling her what he and her father had talked about. Alex began walking toward her. "Oh come on, Doll, you mad at me?" he asked, his smirk growing larger as he got closer to Meredith.

"Yes! As a matter of fact I am. I waited all day to see if you got fired because you were playing my knight in shining, whatever, last night, and you were in surgery!?" Alex remained in front of her with the same stupid smile on his face that usually got him out of trouble with Meredith. "What?" she asked. She was irritated with him, but he knew there was something else.

"Wait for me?" he asked, almost sweetly.

Meredith waved her hand, as though the answer was obvious, and sat in the closest chair to wait. Moments later, he'd returned and was standing in front of her. "You gonna tell me what else is wrong, or am I going to have to guess?" he asked. Alex held out his hand to her and pulled her up. Meredith shrugged. "What if I have really good news for you?" he asked.

"It better involve Paris."

Alex chuckled. "I passed my boards."

Meredith leaped into his arms, surprising even herself. "Alex! That's so … great!"

"Yeah, let's do something to celebrate." He knew what she was thinking, but cut her off, "I don't want to go to Joe's. I want to go some place nobody knows us."

Meredith nodded, and they ended up across the city.

"Two shots of tequila, and a Corona," Alex ordered. He joined Meredith at a booth. "These are for you," he pushed the shots forward, "and this is mine."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Meredith asked, giggling. "What's with your one beer?"

"Someone's gotta drive us home. I'm high enough, from passing my boards."

Meredith leaned into Alex and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that I was so angry with you." He kissed to top of her head, but said nothing. "I was just afraid that you were gone, and I was going to be alone."

"Grey, you're … you know, you're not like me. They all like you."

Meredith remained silent for a moment. "I like it better when you're there," she said finally.

"You'd better be careful," Alex teased. "Someone might think you care about me."

Meredith downed her two shots and then looked Alex in the eyes. "I _do_ care about you, Alex."

Their look lingered for a moment too long before Alex grew uncomfortable under her gaze and looked away. Meredith mumbled something before disappearing to the bar to get more alcohol. When she returned, so had Alex's cocky grin. "So am I going to finally know what it's like to go home with Meredith Grey, intoxicated?"

Meredith stuck out her tongue and downed the other two shots in her hands. "Let's get out of here. This place is no fun." Alex quickly downed his beer in one gulp and stood, following Meredith out of the bar and into his truck.

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She'd giggled the whole way home. Perhaps Alex had overestimated how much it actually took Meredith Grey to get drunk. Perhaps she could just maintain drunk really well, and it only took a few to get her there initially. Because, here she was, on his couch, falling over herself in a fit of drunken giggles.

Meredith had already opened another beer for Alex and poured herself another shot. "Let's play a game." Meredith was already looking for the pack of cards she thought she saw the other day.

Alex put a hand on hers. "Mer," he said softly. "Calm down." His voice was soothing in an almost hypnotic way. He held out his arm and Meredith let herself all into his shoulder. They sat together for a moment, as one.

"Alex?" Meredith asked. Her voice sounded somber.

"Yeah?" he asked. She shook her head against his chest. "No, what?"

"Why … I mean, I like it, but why are you being my knight in shining-"

Alex cut her off before she got to the "whatever" part. "Meredith," he breathed out. He had so many words in his head that it almost overwhelmed him. "I'm going to bed," Alex announced rather abruptly. He left Meredith on the couch, drunk and very confused by what had just transpired.


	14. One Fine Day

I am so beyond sorry for taking forever to post this. The next chapter is nearly finished, so I PROMISE I will post it very very very soon.

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Chapter 14: "One Fine Day"

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"What the hell was that?" Meredith was standing in the doorway, forcefully asking for an explanation, but Alex didn't know what to say or how to respond. He had no clue what made him walk away. When he didn't respond, Meredith left the doorway and went back out to the living room.

Alex closed his eyes tightly in an effort to fall asleep. When he realized that Meredith wasn't returning to come to bed, he picked up his head to listen to what she was doing. He heard silence, and then, suddenly, the sounds of keys rustling. It took him less than a second to put it together before he launched himself out of bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, wincing at the bright light.

Meredith looked at him with cold eyes, which made him wince. He was used to getting those eyes, just not from Meredith.

"I thought … I don't know what I thought, but I don't want to be somewhere with someone who doesn't want me around." Meredith had her bag in one hand and her keys in the other. It occurred to Alex that they'd left her car at Seattle Grace, but he didn't want to remind her, for fear that she'd just get more upset at him.

Alex had something to say. In fact, he had a lot of somethings to say. But none of them would come out, no matter how hard he tried.

Meredith looked away and Alex thought he saw the hint of a tear in the corner of her eye. Over the past couple of weeks, Alex had seen Meredith Grey cry a lot. He never thought he would ever be the cause of her tears.

Something inside of him pushed him forward. Alex took her hand and removed the keys, throwing them onto the couch. He stripped her of her bag, too, without much resistance.

With a gentle thumb, he wiped her falling tear from her cheek, then lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. "Grey, when are you going to figure out that I always want you around?"

Meredith's glassy eyes searched his for meaning, for an explanation, which was given in the form of the sweetest kiss she had ever received.

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Alex was swimming in his own head, wondering if this was actually happening. His arms were wrapped around Meredith Grey, and his lips were attached to hers. What's more, she wasn't pushing him away. In fact, she seemed to be pulling him closer. Eagerly.

Alex wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there, making out, before he pulled back. It was mostly to make sure that Meredith wasn't completely intoxicated, but partially because he had to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Hey," he whispered.

Meredith smiled. "So you always want me around?" she teased.

His smirk returned, full force. "Well, you're pretty hot." Alex pulled Meredith closer as she giggled into his ear. "You still want to leave?"

Meredith shook her head and kissed him again. "Alex?" He raised his eyebrows. "Do you think … I don't want to rush things."

Alex nodded and sweetly kissed her forehead.

And for the first time in his entire life, Alex made out with a girl all night without even trying to take off her pants.

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Meredith was gone in the morning.

Alex didn't even remember falling asleep, let alone the moment when her warmth left him behind. It bothered him much more than it should have. He stared at the empty spot next to him on the bed for a moment before getting up and getting ready for work. Her lack of a car the night before was harsh; she must have called a cab.

She ran away.

Alex took a shower and tried to wash himself of her smell, of her memory.

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"Hey," he heard behind him. Her happy, bouncy voice.

He nodded at her and continued rooting around in his locker, hoping she would disappear.

"Sorry about this-"

"Whatever," he spit out. "You got cold feet. I get it." Alex shrugged, trying to will her to go away.

Except, when she stomped her foot and anger and left, Alex felt all the hope in his body drain out of him. He'd expected her to fight, at least. Meredith was a fighter. And the fact that she wasn't willing to fight for him spoke volumes.

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Sorry for the short chapter. And, I know. Mean. So close, yet so far …


	15. Sweet Emotion

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Chapter 15: "Sweet Emotion"

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Alex had tried desperately to pick up a girl at Joe's. But in the end, none of them were what he wanted. So he drove home, not anywhere near drunk. And alone. He hadn't seen Meredith all day, mostly because he hid out in the pit until he was sure she'd gone home for the day.

Having not yet reached the level of drunkenness he had intended, Alex skipped the mail and all of his regular routine and headed straight to the fridge for a beer.

And there it was. Posted on the freezer, at eye level, where she had been sure he would see it, because she didn't bank on him being so pissed about her leaving that he didn't feel like eating breakfast that morning. On a pink piece of paper that she must have scrounged out of her own purse, because Alex Karev did not own pink pieces of paper. The reason why she was absent this morning. The reason she didn't fight with him. The reason why she, rightfully, stormed off after his brutal rebuff.

Alex winced as he ripped it off the fridge and read it.

_Alex,_

_I didn't want to wake you. My mom's home called. It's no big thing, but I had to go check on her. I'll see you at work._

_ -Meredith_

_PS. Thanks for last night._

Ass. Ass. Ass.

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If roommates were good for one thing, it was for communal drinking. In the living room. On the floor. Out of mismatched shot glasses. No chasers allowed.

Meredith and Izzie sat supporting each other, as they leaned against the couch. "I am going to end up single and alone, just like my mother. I mean, but look where she ended up: A world renown surgeon. That's not so bad, is it?"

Izzie shook her head. "You can sleep with as many boys as you want. You won't be tied down to anything or anywhere. Look at your mom, she's off seeing the world and writing a book! She doesn't have to worry about any stupid maaaan stopping her."

"No, Meredith, you'll be okay, you won't be alone." For his part, George was completely mystified by the announcement that Meredith had a no-sex-sleep with Alex last night, or any night before that for that matter.

"I wonder if my mom always had this much difficulty. I mean, first I fall in love with a man _who's married_. And then, Alex. What was I thinking?"

George spit out his tequila shot. "You were in love with Alex!?"

Meredith continued on, as if George hadn't even spoken, or spit out all of his alcohol on her jeans. "I should have just hooked up with McSteamy. At least I _know _he's bad for me."

"For the record, you knew Alex was bad for you, too," Izzie interjected.

"Izzie," Meredith said, too drunk to be admonishing.

"Sorry."

"How come you hear her? When I talk, you don't hear me." George melodramatically collapsed onto the floor.

"George, I hear you." Meredith's voice took a patronizing tone.

Izzie shook her head. "You don't. We don't. He's too quiet."

The doorbell rang, and Izzie jumped up. "Pizza's here!" she sang out, launching herself toward the door.

"I hear you, George," Meredith repeated herself.

"Fine, you hear me. Okay."

"Okay."

The two sat in silence until Izzie returned with pizza boxes in tow.

When the door bell rang again, Izzie and Meredith looked at George. "Your Chinese food, George," they said in unison.

The two women remained side by side, taking another shot of tequila before they picked up their slices of pizza.

"It was not my Chinese food. No, definitely not."

"But we didn't order-" Meredith stopped midsentence, seeing Alex standing sheepishly behind George. He looked small to her.

"I told him he couldn't come in," George said.

"Well that obviously worked out well for you!" Izzie screeched.

"Meredith?" Alex asked, finally speaking.

Meredith realized that everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to do something, anything. "What?" she spit out, a little more aggressively than she meant to.

"Can I talk to you?" He looked at Izzie and George. "Alone?"

She sighed and took another shot. "Fine."

Before they walked away, Izzie and George gave him a menacing look before clearing out of the room, taking the box of pizza and tequila up to Izzie's room with them.

"I'm drunk." Meredith sat, staring at her own feet. "Really, really drunk."

"I'm sorry."

Meredith stared at him, confused. "That I'm drunk?"

Alex couldn't help but chuckle, despite the situation. "No, Grey. About today."

"Oh." Then, "I'm listening."

"All I knew is that when I woke up this morning, you were gone. I was afraid you'd changed your mind."

Meredith snorted. "I left a note."

"I didn't get it until twenty minutes ago."

"Oh, I don't care." Meredith struggled to stand up, and Alex came rushing forward to help her. She looked deeply into his eyes, her arms resting on her shoulders. "I'm really drunk."

Alex chuckled again. "Come on, Grey. Let's get some sleep."

He picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "This doesn't mean you're off the hook."

"No," he whispered in her ear, just happy to be holding her again.

"In fact, there are a lot of things you'll have to do to get off the hook." She was mumbling into his shoulder now.

"Of course."

"Like baseball games. And more jersey things. I liked those."

"Sure. Anything." Alex reached what he deduced was her bedroom since all the other doors were closed. He set her down carefully on the bed and closed the door behind him.

"And then, you have to do my post-op notes."

"Let's not get carried away here, Grey," he responded, with a large smile on his face.

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Is that better?


	16. Let it Be

Sorry it took me forever and a day to get this up.

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Chapter 16: "Let it Be"

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Alex felt Meredith stir and stretch next to him. Instinctively, he reached out to touch her. She peeked at him and groaned. "You are so not off the hook."

So Meredith was angry with him. That, he could handle. Because, at least she was talking to him. And, more importantly, she wasn't kicking him out of her bed. But most importantly, she was letting him touch her.

"I didn't realize that I was so important that a fight with me constituted half a bottle of tequila," he whispered as he inched closer to her body.

"Shut up." Meredith made a halfhearted attempt at hitting him, but ended up just grazing his arm.

"Admit it, Grey." Alex pulled Meredith to him, feeling her warmth radiating through the sheet between them. "You like me."

"You bug me," Meredith managed to eek out before surrendering to his touch and sinking into him. His lips grazed the nape of her neck and Meredith felt her body respond all the way down to the tips of her toes.

"And you like me."

"If I say I do, then what do I get?"

Alex chuckled. "Get up, Grey, there's no way in hell I'm wasting my day off in bed."

Meredith sat up. "I didn't realize that a day in bed with me was a waste of time!" she scoffed.

He grinned at her, then kissed her temple. "Didn't say that sweetheart. But since we wouldn't be doing anything besides moping, let's get out of here."

"This had better be something _really _good, Alex. I mean it!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm trying to get off the hook, remember?"

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Izzie and George were already awake, talking in whispers, when Alex made his way downstairs to wait for Meredith to finish getting ready.

Izzie held her mug of coffee in her hand and looked at Alex over the rim of it as she sipped from it. "Sooo … Alex."

"What do you want, Stevens?" There were people who annoyed him more, Alex knew, but at the moment, he could not think of a single person who bothered him more than Izzie Stevens and George O'Malley.

"Wh-What are you and Meredith doing today?" George asked.

"Stuff," Alex spit out.

"Oh, that's great. Stuff. Sounds fun," Izzie guffawed. "If you're going to be with Meredith, then you have to be good to her!" Alex raised his eyebrows, wondering where this was going. "I mean, you can't just run errands with her and call it a date. If that were a date, then I should have gotten to at least third base with her."

Alex was trying desperately to not to react in some way. Not that he was sure whether he was supposed to laugh or yell. George, on the other hand, spit out his coffee. "Izzie!"

"Sorry. The point is. Be her boyfriend. Don't be her whatever."

Partially because he didn't care, but mostly because he liked pissing off Izzie, Alex shrugged his shoulders and responded with, "Whatever," before getting up from the counter to go greet Meredith at the foot of the stairs.

"What's Izzie so worked up about?" Meredith asked, as she could hear the faint rumblings of Izzie complaining to George.

"Beats the hell out of me," Alex said, taking Meredith's hand and leading her out of the house.

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"So where we going?" Meredith asked, settling into Alex's truck. She liked the fact that Alex drove a truck. She liked manly men. And Alex was a manly man.

"You're not going to get me to ruin the surprise."

"It's a surprise?" Meredith was surprisingly chipper for being quasi-hung over and angry with Alex. She was really close to just forgetting yesterday ever happened.

"Yup."

To both Alex and Meredith's surprise, Meredith didn't argue or try to get it out of Alex. Instead, she slid over to the middle seat of Alex's truck and snuggled into him.

"Told you that you like me." Alex grinned and threw his right arm around Meredith.

"Oh, get over yourself. I like a lot of people. Apparently, I have poor taste in people." Meredith grinned up at Alex with bright and shiny eyes and it struck her. She was happy. Really, undeniably happy.

"Ooooh, and I was _this close_ to telling you where we're going."

Meredith shrieked. "You were not!"

"You'll never know, will you?" Alex winked and continued to drive.

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"Do you ever talk to your mom?" Alex was being amazingly open about his life, which was something that she'd never experienced before.

Alex shrugged. "I'm a guy, Grey. Guys don't do the mommy thing, unless you're O'Malley."

Meredith raised her eyebrow, but giggled nonetheless. "But you do talk, right?"

"Yeah, we talk. She's still back home. She's all wrapped up in my little sister, they do all this girl stuff together." Meredith smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I always did my own thing."

"Well, it's good to know that this whole loner thing isn't a recent development." Meredith raised her head, suddenly aware of their surroundings. They'd been in the car for a little over two hours. "Alex?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why are we going to Canada?"

Alex smirked, then shrugged. "I like Canada."

Meredith tipped her head back and laughed deeply. And for a fleeting moment, Alex wondered if their kids would have her laugh.

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